air travel

The days surrounding Thanksgiving, especially the following Sunday, are the busiest travel days of the year for the Des Moines International Airport. The Transportation Safety Administration says the DSM airport sees 3,000-3,500 travelers on a routine day, but around Thanksgiving those numbers will be up to 4,500.

The type of flyers are different as well. Airport Executive Director Kevin Foley says usually it’s about a 50-50 split between business and leisure travelers, though around Thanksgiving 90 percent of travelers are not frequent flyers.

The fights of thousands of Delta Air Lines travelers have been canceled or delayed due to Monday’s early morning power outage in Atlanta, where the company is headquartered. This outage caused Delta's computer system to crash.

Two of the more than 450 canceled Delta flights were round trips headed for Omaha's Eppley Airfield. One was scheduled to arrive from Minneapolis at 12:37 pm and then take off again at 1:13 pm. The other canceled flight was from Atlanta, which scheduled to land in Omaha at 5:11 pm, and then leave at 5:51 pm.

First, University of Iowa President Sally Mason meets with the Board of Regents for a special meeting this afternoon to discuss her remarks on how the university handles sexual assault allegations. Iowa Public Radio correspondent Dean Borg tells host Ben Kieffer what to expect out of the meeting.

Plans to build a new regional airport are underway in south central Iowa’s Mahaska County. Two existing airports – in Oskaloosa and Pella would close – and a new consolidated one would provide services to large companies in the area. Iowa Public Radio’s Clay Masters reports on the fight over whether or not a new regional airport will help the area economy.